Flashpoint,
a new crime drama on CBS, follows the lives of members of the Strategic Response
Unit as they work through hostage crises, bomb threats, and other sensitive
situations. In the episode that aired August 14th at 9:00 p.m. ET, a
group of teenage girls follow and torment another teen girl in a mall bathroom.

The teenage girls do more than
just bully their classmate. They push her to the ground, savagely beat her, cut
off chunks of her hair and throw it in her face. And just when the viewer is led
to believe that the bullies may leave the poor girl alone, lying in her own
blood and hair, they decide they should shoot her. When the attackers drop their
gun, the victim picks it up and shoots one of the bullies. This episode only
received a TV-PG DV rating. According to the TV Ratings Board, a PG-rated
program “contains material that parents may
find unsuitable for younger children [and] moderate violence (V).” That such a
graphic and animalistic attack – committed not by adults but by children, on
children their own age, and concluding with one child shooting others – was
considered “moderate” violence speaks poorly of CBS ratings policies. Especially
in the wake of the Columbine shooting, such a scenario would be deeply
terrifying to most children. To properly protect young viewers – and to allow
the V-Chip to function properly – the episode should have been rated TV-14 DV.
By failing to rate their shows adequately, CBS has once again failed parents and
children in their viewing audience.

If you agree that this program was inadequately
rated, please write to the TV ratings advisory board at
tvomb@usa.net and let them know that the TV
ratings once again failed to adequately warn parents about inappropriate
content.

Parents Television Council,
www.parentstv.org, PTC,
Clean Up TV Now, Because our children are watching, The
nation's most influential advocacy organization, Protecting
children against sex, violence and profanity in
entertainment, Parents Television Council Seal of Approval,
and Family Guide to Prime Time Television
are trademarks of the Parents Television Council.